CONCORD, N.C. -- Jimmie Johnson led all teammates for a fifth-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Sunday.
Chase Elliott led the race for 70 laps and won Stage 1 and Stage 2, but a flat tire late in Stage 3 sent him to the back of the pack and out of winning contention.
William Byron and Alex Bowman also had strong showings, with both of them cracking the top two in the last stage.
Throughout the majority of the second stage, all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers were in the top eight. That trend continued well into Stage 3, making up four of the top seven cars in the field for a large portion of the final stage.
Joey Logano won the race.
Below is a closer look at how Sunday’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway unfolded for the four Hendrick Motorsports teammates.
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 26th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Right away, everyone was under caution, but Elliott was able to sneak up a spot to No. 9 after starting 10th before the yellow flag was dropped. He moved up to seventh place 12 laps in.
- By the 20th lap, Elliott was within the top five in fourth place. During the competition caution on lap 25, he stayed steady in that spot.
- After his first pit stop, Elliott inched up to third, but fell back to fourth. He moved in and out of the third spot several times by the time the race was halfway through the first stage. Before the 50th lap, he had settled in third place, just over a second behind first place.
- By the 60th lap, Elliott moved up to second place and was averaging a faster pace in the previous five laps than the leader. During the 69th lap, he led all drivers in first place, a position he held when Stage 1 ended. It’s the second race in a row Elliott finished Stage 1 on top.
- After the first stage, he pitted and had all four tires changed and air pressure adjustment. He rolled back on the track in 16th place and managed to get back up to second. He was neck and neck for the first-place spot 25 laps into the second stage, but he pulled ahead to lead the pack once again.
- After he pitted on lap 44 of the second stage, Elliott exited in ninth place, but was able to push back up to first place with less than 15 laps left in Stage 2. He crossed the checkered line in first to end the second stage.
- Cautions went out eight laps in the third stage, which saw Elliott fall to fifth. He moved back up to third ahead of Johnson, then to second with 65 laps to go.
- Once again, he took over at No. 1 on lap 205, but had to give up that top position with 50 laps left after he pitted for new tires. After that pit he had a flat tire and drew out a caution flag, forcing him to pit again. He fell to 27th and was unable to climb back into the top 20.
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 22nd
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Byron started out 11th and quickly got up to eighth before the yellow flag dropped less than a few minutes into the race. He moved up to fifth by the 13th lap after edging out another driver.
- During the competition caution on lap 25, he fell to seventh place. Once he rolled out of pit road afterward, Byron was back in 12th. He entered the top 10 again with less than 20 laps to go, at one point battling for the better position with teammate Bowman. When the first stage ended, he rolled across the line in sixth.
- For the start of the second stage, Byron stayed within the top 10 and was part of a chain that saw him, Johnson and Bowman in sixth, seventh and eighth places.
- Halfway through Stage 2, Byron found himself within the top five in fourth place. However, he pitted quickly for four tires and a chassis adjustment before heading back to the track in 12th. He jumped back up to fourth with 13 laps left in the second stage, where he remained once the stage ended.
- Byron became the leader of the Hendrick Motorsports crew 10 laps in Stage 3, remaining fourth. However, he slipped out of the top five after going to pit road and fell to 10th with 80 laps to go.
- He cracked the top eight again with 64 laps left behind Bowman, then edged into the top six, making use of fresher tires.
- Byron led the Hendrick Motorsports pack in sixth with 35 laps to go, then jumped up one more spot with 23 laps left. With less than 15 laps to go, Byron re-entered the top five behind Bowman.
- He continued to bring up the rear for Bowman, hanging in fourth place with seven laps left. A yellow flag dropped with six laps to go gave him the chance to move to second after he decided not to pit.
- On the final lap, he had a tire rub from a block that knocked him out of winner contention.
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 5th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Johnson rolled off the grid in 18th and slid up two spots when the yellow flag was early in the race. He jumped up further in the seventh lap to 11th as he hugged the inside of the track. However, during the competition caution, he slipped to 14th.
- With less than 10 laps to go in the first stage, he entered the top 10 and held steady in ninth place on the 1.5-mile track, staying there at the end of Stage 1.
- Ten laps into the second stage, Johnson pushed himself within the top five. He dropped back to sixth and was tailed by teammates Byron and Bowman to round out the top eight in the field.
- A pit stop along with his teammates saw Johnson drop back to 14th, but with 13 laps to go, he was back in the top 10 in seventh, where he remained at the end of the second stage.
- He cracked the top five again less than 10 laps into the third stage, holding steady behind Byron and leading Elliott and Bowman, respectively. He crept up to No. 4 after a yellow flag held up the race and moved to third after another restart with 85 laps to go. However, Elliott was able to surpass him and Johnson moved down a spot again.
- With 50 laps left, Johnson stopped at pit road to get four fresh tires, jumping back on the track in 10th place. He brushed against the wall in the second half of the third stage, falling back to 10.
- Johnson stayed within the top 10 and opted to pit under the yellow flag with just six laps left in the race. He finished fifth.
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 VALVOLINE CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 13th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Like his teammates, Bowman moved up during the first lap, jumping from 12th to 11th before the yellow flag was waved at the start of the race. He was inside the top 10 in ninth place by the 23rd lap. During the competition caution, he remained in the same spot.
- Bowman edged up to eighth during the 47th lap, where he remained throughout the latter laps of the first stage. He and Byron were battling each other with 15 laps to go for that spot and Bowman managed to move up to seventh. He placed eighth after Stage 1.
- A quick pit stop with less than 20 laps in the second stage saw Bowman in 12th, but with 13 laps to go in Stage 2, he was right behind teammate Johnson in eighth place. Despite a dropped yellow flag with one lap left, he finished ninth by the time the second stage ended.
- In the start of Stage 3, Bowman brought up the rear of his Hendrick Motorsports teammates in seventh. He cracked the top five with 83 laps left and kept trading places with Johnson.
- Bowman pitted with 50 laps left, falling out of the top 10, but worked his way back into the top six, trailing Byron by one. He surpassed Byron with less than 20 laps left, leading his teammates for the first time this race.
- Less than a second off the lead with 10 laps left, Bowman inched into third place. Just one lap later, he slid into second. He pitted after a yellow flag was dropped, but was quick to zoom out in 14th place. He was unable to work his way back up after the final yellow flag fell, which ultimately signified the end of the race.